The Warriors are a testament to what a group of people can accomplish when they’re no longer slowed by the drag of selfishness. On Tuesday night in Indiana, Stephen Curry, the best player on the planet, repeatedly passed up shots to feed Klay Thompson, his blisteringly hot teammate. Thompson dropped 29 in the first half, before the Pacers’ defense could figure out what had ripped through it. When the defense finally pulled closer to the Warriors’ guards, Curry and Thompson started dumping the ball to Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli, sailing through the open space created by the backcourt’s gravitational pull. Bogut and Ezeli finished the night 12-16 from the field. All together, for the first three quarters, the Warriors found themselves in an upward spiral of selfless efficiency — with each adjustment resulting in better looks. It’s no accident they finished the third quarter with 111 points and shooting 62% from the field. What happened after those glorious three quarters was ugly and, depending on the severity of Thompson’s ankle injury, potentially costly, but those 12 minutes shouldn’t detract from the full-throated statement the Warriors delivered earlier in the evening.

The Pacers are the best team the Warriors have played in more than two weeks, since the Los Angeles Clippers. In recent days, Indiana also publicly relished the opportunity to break the Warriors’ winning streak. They talked about how they would have something special waiting for the Warriors. It turns out the Warriors were the ones lying in wait to unleash a surprise. The fluid, active and relentless play duringthe Warriors’ first three quarters was a reminder of just how good this team can be when focused. Even without Harrison Barnes and Leandro Barbosa, they were merciless with their inside/outside defense and breakneck scoring. The Warriors’ 22-0 first quarter run wasn’t quite a knock-out blow, but it left the Pacers stunned and stumbling for at least the next 24 minutes. Three games in four nights — all on the road — used to be a bulletproof excuse for poor play. Now the adversecircumstances barely get a mention, despite adding an even greater aura of indestructibility to this fearsome team. The Warriors’ greatness has nearly left us numb.

But the game unfortunately didn’t end after three quarters, with the Warriors’ commanding 111-83 lead. The next 12 minutes sawthe Pacers’ climb back into the game thanks in part to Luke Walton’s good intentions and the Warriors’ short-handed roster. Walton was absolutely correct to send Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green to the bench at the end of the third quarter, with the Warriors nursing nearly a 30 point lead. If the Warriors were at full strength, Walton would have had Harrison Barnes and Leandro Barbosa to provide some scoring punch to the remainder of the typical bench rotation — Ezeli, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. But with Barnes still recovering and Barbosa out to illness, the Warriors’ “blowout” line-up suddenly packed much less firepower. Brandon Rush and Ian Clark took the spots of Barnes and Barbosa, and the Warriors were unsurprisingly worse off from the swap. The team’s defensive intensity largely disappeared, and on offense they dumped the ball from person to person with no clear sense of who would take charge and attack the Pacers’ defense. Suddenly, the team shooting over 60% for the game was hitting shots at barely half that rate.

Walton finally sounded the alarm and re-inserted Curry, Thompson and Green with nearly 6 minutes remaining. But the starter’s mojo was hard to recreate after the trio had spent an extended period on the bench thinking they were done for the night. Suddenly Thompson couldn’t hit anything (0-3), and even Curry shot at the percentage of a mere mortal (2-4). The blended line-up of starters and reserves put enough points on the board to salvage a win, but those extra minutes came at a very high cost. Although early reports of Thompson’s ankle injury suggest that it’s not too severe, the garbage-time injury fulfilled a nightmare of many fans — that the team would lose a key player to injury in a largely meaningless situation. It’s hard to fault the short-handed reserves for nearly giving up the lead against the Pacers’ starters, but the scare puts a dent in the Warriors’ sense of indestructibility. Against a quality opponent, the Warriors won’t be able to hang their fortunes entirely on Livingston turnarounds and Rush threes.

A few scattered observations:

Ultimately, when this team takes its rightful place in the history books, we won’t remember any of these close calls or near collapses. They’re not indicative of some deeper flaw in the team. Rather, they’re evidence of just how hard it is to mentally and physically maintain the level of play that the Warriors now have for 23 games (don’t get me started on this “four games from last season” garbage). Every night, the Warriors get their opponents’ best efforts. Every minute of the game, opponents are looking for an opportunity to measure up against the defending champs. Under that constant assault, the consistent and clinical way by which the Warriors pick apart teams is even more amazing. Warriors’ opponents, like the Pacers, continue to provide motivation. And every night, the Warriors continue to embarrass their doubters.